In 2023, when the state of California asked police agencies looking for grant money to outline how they’d combat organized retail theft, the Vacaville Police Department answered with a real-time information center (RTIC).
The department reallocated portions of its records center to make way for six workstations, a video wall and future radio console capabilities. This work began in December 2024 and concluded in June 2025 with the help of $1.7 million in police development impact fees, Police Chief Chris Polen recently told the City Council.
“We felt like if we centralized our information in one space, that was going to increase the efficiency for us,” Polen said during the Jan. 6 City Council meeting.
“What we’ve seen so far, there has been a fundamental shift in organized retail theft from a reactive case reporting to a coordinated, intelligence-led, real-time response and prevention,” he added.
In March 2025, the city launched its drone-as-a-first-responder (DFR) program, which has seen successes as an early intervention tool — especially around suspect tracking and intelligence gathering ahead of officer arrivals on scene, said Police Services Manager Nikki Bell.
Other technology used by the RTIC team includes surveillance cameras, drones, automated license plate readers and several analytics platforms. Those analytics platforms, Bell explained, allow Vacaville to connect crimes in different jurisdictions.
Over the past 10 months, staffing for the new unit has grown from just 4 days/20 hours a week to a planned 7 days/70 hours in April 2026.
“The early stats show that what we’re doing is improving our law enforcement tactics here in the city of Vacaville,” Bell said. “But we’re trying to decide, do we have the right infrastructure? Do we have the right staffing model yet? Is the technology the right technology for our organization?
“I’ll be honest, I don’t have that answer for you yet; we need a little bit more time to figure that out. And that really is the goal of 2026, to be able to identify what is working well and … what is our area of weakness that we could shore up,” she added.
The state grant funding ends Dec. 31, 2026, and the council will have to decide how (or if) to fund the RTIC beyond that date. One of the options on the table, Bell said, is exploring other grant funding and the use of public-private partnerships.
Some of the emerging technologies the department is hoping to take advantage of in the near future include private citizen body-worn cameras and DFR programs, camera registries, app-based intelligence/reporting tools and more. The ability to tie into these tools will be essential in the coming years, Bell said.
“It’s really hard to anticipate what technology is on the horizon,” Bell said in response to a councilmember’s questions about technology update needs. “I feel like what we might do is shuffle the technology versus continuously adding. It’s hard for me to say with complete certainty, but at some point there is information overload.”
The council will have to decide at some point in the near future how to fund the RTIC. Those options included canceling it altogether, funding core services or increasing the funding to enhance services. Councilmembers’ reaction to Bell’s presentation was positive, signaling future support for possible expansion, or at least retention.
For vendors working in this space, the city could be worth watching — or even partnering with on no-cost trials. Bell noted that the city has been approached for input by a state agency about what the next round of grant funding should look like, meaning more funds could be coming at some point.
Vacaville Evaluates Policing Tech, Eyeing Possible Expansion
Early successes with the city’s Real-Time Information Center and drone program have officials evaluating where the program and technology that supports it could evolve in the new year.
